Sydney Sweeney has spent plenty of time being compared to Marilyn Monroe. Now, according to genealogy researchers, the resemblance comes with an unexpected family connection: the two Hollywood stars are reportedly ninth cousins, once removed.
Genealogy platform MyHeritage says Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe share a distant ancestor, tracing both actresses' paternal family lines to a 17th-century English settler in Massachusetts.
The discovery adds an intriguing twist to a comparison that has followed the Euphoria actress, particularly as she has increasingly embraced fashion inspired by Monroe's most recognisable looks.
How Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe are related
According to research conducted by MyHeritage, Sweeney and Monroe can both trace their paternal ancestry to Ezra Perry, an early English settler who lived in Sandwich, Massachusetts, during the 1600s.
The genealogy platform identifies the actresses as ninth cousins, once removed, meaning they belong to different generations of a family tree connected through a distant common ancestor.
It is a remarkably distant relationship. The designation does not suggest that the two women share any particularly close family ties, nor does it establish that their physical similarities are inherited from that specific ancestor.
Still, the finding gives an unexpected historical dimension to a comparison that previously rested largely on Hollywood image-making and public perception.
MyHeritage's reported conclusion is based on genealogical research, although the information provided does not include the complete documentary trail connecting each actress to Perry. That distinction matters when assessing the precise family relationship.
The Marilyn Monroe outfits that inspired the investigation
The research was reportedly prompted by Sweeney's increasingly visible references to Monroe through her red-carpet fashion.
One particularly striking example came at the premiere of The Housemaid, where Sweeney wore an outfit referencing the famous white dress Monroe wore in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.
Monroe's appearance in that film, particularly the celebrated scene involving her white dress, remains one of the most recognisable images in Hollywood history.
Sweeney also drew inspiration from Monroe's appearance on a 1952 cover of LIFE magazine when attending the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
These fashion choices helped reinforce the visual connection between the two actresses, with Sweeney deliberately referencing the style of one of cinema's most enduring stars.
For MyHeritage, those parallels apparently provided enough inspiration to investigate whether the resemblance extended beyond the wardrobe.
As it turns out, the family tree offered a more interesting answer than another round of celebrity lookalike comparisons.
Why the family connection is attracting attention
The appeal of the discovery lies partly in the different Hollywood eras the two women represent.
Monroe became an international cultural icon during the 1950s and early 1960s, developing an image that continues to influence fashion, celebrity culture and popular perceptions of glamour.
Sweeney, meanwhile, has established herself as a contemporary screen star through projects including Euphoria and The Housemaid, while attracting considerable attention for her public appearances and fashion choices.
Their reported family connection creates an appealing narrative: a modern actress who has repeatedly referenced a Hollywood legend turns out to share a distant ancestor with her.
But the distinction between genealogy and cultural influence is important.
Being ninth cousins, once removed, does not explain why two celebrities might look alike, adopt similar styling or occupy comparable positions in popular culture. Their shared ancestry is a separate finding from the deliberate fashion references that prompted the investigation.
In my view, that distinction actually makes the story more interesting. Sweeney's Monroe-inspired appearances were already a conscious engagement with Hollywood history. Discovering a distant genealogical connection adds a genuine coincidence without requiring anyone to pretend that glamour, acting talent or celebrity status can be inherited through a family tree.
A Hollywood coincidence with roots in the 1600s
The reported connection also illustrates how distant family relationships can stretch across centuries before linking people whose lives appear entirely unrelated.
In this case, the genealogical trail reportedly leads away from film premieres, magazine covers and red carpets to colonial-era Massachusetts.
Ezra Perry's place in the family histories of both actresses is the central finding of the MyHeritage investigation. The precise documentary evidence supporting each branch of that lineage would provide the clearest way to independently assess the relationship.
For now, the discovery gives fans of both stars another detail to consider when comparing their public images.
Sweeney's tributes to Monroe remain deliberate fashion choices, rather than evidence of some inherited Hollywood destiny. But according to MyHeritage, the two actresses share something neither wardrobe styling nor cinematic inspiration could manufacture: a distant place on the same family tree.
